CALL TO ARTISTS “Until the Last Breath”: Demystifying and re-envisioning the death and dying experience.

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 2018-02-13 12:40

Posted: Tue, 2018-02-13 12:40

CALL TO ARTISTS

Until the Last BreathDemystifying and re-envisioning the death and dying experience.

Submission deadline: March 15 Exhibition: Fall 2018, Toronto.

Until the Last Breath is an exhibition that reimagines the experience of death and dying in today’s healthcare system.

In the face of accelerated technological change, the moral challenges encountered in the dying process are changing rapidly; aging, chronic illness management, quality of life decisions, life sustaining technologies and medical aid in dying (MAID) all bring to the dying process choices we are often asked to make on the spot about how and when we or a loved one wants to die.

But for many of us, after generations of being taught how to avoid thinking about death, these are decisions that we: the dying, the families and the healthcare professionals, are not always ready for. What may result is an experience of confusion and unnecessary trauma, over-medicalization, and the pressure to make difficult decisions with limited options, at the most difficult time.

How can this experience be different? What does dying in the medical environment feel and look like today? What are the challenges? What needs to change? What other options currently exist and are on the horizon? What does / can the future hold?

We are looking to the diverse perspectives of artists of all types, incorporating their personal experiences, scientific data and the voices of the patients and healthcare professionals alike, to create interactive, unique and thought-provoking works that promote discussion, highlights challenges, and brainstorm solutions, on what the present and future of dying in Canada could look like.

This call is open to all artists: established and emerging, 2D, 3D, video, sound, photography, performance, installation, participatory and all others. We welcome and encourage submissions inspired by all the diversity of perspectives and experiences.

(2) A short description (few lines - max 1 page) of the specific work you are proposing for the exhibition. Please include: a brief overview of the piece; how it conceptually relates to the exhibition topic; whether it is completed or a work in progress

(3) Supporting materials. Photos or sketches of the specific piece proposed. This can be web links or photos included in the PDF. If it is just an idea at this point, please provide links/photos of previous work that is of a similar type/scale ​

TABOO HEALTH is an organization of health promoters, curators, artists, and advocates, with an aim to design thought-provoking exhibitions that facilitate and normalize discussions on what matters in the end-of-life experience, and how it can be improved. If you have any questions please contact us at taboo.health@gmail.com. To learn more about us and the call visit us at, taboohealthexhibitions.com